Marcos Valle

Marcos Kostenbader Valle (born 14 September 1943) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has produced works in many musical styles, including bossa nova, samba, and fusions of rock, soul, jazz, and dance music with Brazilian styles. Valle is credited for popularizing bossa nova in the 1960s.

Valle was born as Marcos Kostenbader Valle on 14 September 1943. He and his family lived in an apartment near Copacabana beach. Valle began playing piano at the age of five. His parents purchased him a Petrof piano when he was ten years old. Growing up, he became influenced by Marvin Gaye. In 1963, he and his family lived in a house, and Antônio Carlos Jobim had just moved across the street from them. Valle is married to singer Patricia Alví. He previously had a wife named Anamaria.

Valle's talent was evident from his high school years, which coincided with the explosion of the bossa nova movement in Rio. His classmates included future legends such as Edu Lobo and Dori Caymmi, and his composition "Sonho de Maria" was included on the Avanco album by the influential Tamba Trio in 1963. With his brother Paulo Sérgio Valle as his lyricist, he had already built an impressive portfolio of songs, prompting Odeon Records (a subsidiary of EMI) to sign him as a singer. His debut album Samba "Demais", was released in April 1964. His reputation quickly spread, and his fellow musicians (including Wilson Simonal, Elis Regina, and Nara Leão) lined up to record his songs. A second album, O Compositor e o Cantor, followed in 1965, and featured what would become his most recognisable song, "Samba De Verão" – known in English as "So Nice (Summer Samba)" – along with other hits such as "Deus Brasileiro," "Gente", and "A Resposta".